Atlanta Thrashers plays host to Philadelphia Flyers in the third of the four scheduled meetings between them
The first game of Thursday will be hosted by Atlanta Thrashers at the Bank Atlantic Center as the home team plays host to Philadelphia Flyers.
This will be the third out of the four scheduled meetings due to take place between the two teams.
Flyers went off to a flying start in the series which saw them winning the first game by 5-2.
However, Thrashers came back with a decent performance which saw them winning their last game by 5-4 in overtime.
Flyers are going through some tough times during the season as they have become one of the most inconsistent teams in the league.
However, Flyers came up with a decent performance against Buffalo Sabres in their last game on Tuesday. Though they won the game by 3-2, this was a slender lead which is not what Flyers are accustomed of.
Nonetheless, it was a win and they managed to survive and maintain the top spot in the Eastern Conference until their next game.
They are coming under intense pressure from last year’s Conference winners, Washington Capitals.
Capitals have piled up some brilliant performance which has put them in touching distance of Flyers.
Flyers, with some recent bad form as it can be said after the standards they have set, saw a change in their game plan as they faced Sabres in their last game.
The mid-field revolved around Claude Giroux, Danny Briere and Jeff Carter.
The strategy seemed to work and they managed to win the game with Jeff Carter bagging two goals during the game.
"It's a different look where every once in a while you do that, and by really jamming up those first two lines and the defense back there, it allowed you to push some minutes on guys," Flyers’ coach, Peter Laviolette, said.
Flyers have played 69 games during the course of the season so far out which they have won 43 games in regulation time and seven games in overtime to score a total of 93 points and lead the Eastern Conference.
On the other hand, Thrashers have played 70 games during the course of the season out which they have won 29 games in regulation time and 12 games in overtime to score a total of 70 points.
Thrashers were in a good shape ahead of the game in their last game against New Jersey Devils.
They managed to establish a two-goal lead to their advantage with some brilliant work up front.
However, their vulnerable defence couldn’t stop Devils as they bagged four goals to win the game 4-2 in the end.
"It was weird … we set up the play and it worked," Thrashers’ coach, Craig Ramsay, said. "The (decision) was so disappointing, the fact we didn't get that goal to at least give us a chance."
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